Abstract

Effects of the coherence properties of the source on the resolving power of a focusing system are considered. Computations are presented which illustrate the variations in the focal plane intensity distribution of a focused system for source points emitting incoherently and for source points emitting coherently with different relative phases. Experimental results for a microwave system operating at 34.5 Gc/sec (8.7-mm wavelength) are compared with the theoretical predictions, and good agreement is found. With coherent source points, the effects of the secondary maxima (side lobes) in the diffraction pattern are shown to be much more pronounced than with incoherent source points. A simple criterion for the resolving power of coherent systems is suggested as an extension of the Rayleigh criterion used for incoherent sources.

© 1965 Optical Society of America

Focal Properties of Microwave Lenses with Small F-Numbers

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Microwave Measurements of Partially Coherent Fields

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